Dodge Bless America

After our discussion on responsible spending this week I started to think about the relationship between public and private commercial sectors. We came to the conclusion that programs that promote responsible spending rarely turn up. And more rarely do they originate from within the federal or state levels of government. The claim that citizens are identified as consumers, or agents to carry out macro and microeconomic goals is certainly very plausible, especially in times of uncertainty or recession. But I argue that the trend from within the government is slowly shifting to policy that promotes more responsible spending from the individual, while still embracing consumerism as one of many tools that work in conjunction toward economic recovery.
While we may not see the Ad Council air commercials that are targeted at responsible spending, there is very specific legislation and policy that actually inhibits some of the worst types of ‘irresponsible spending”. For example, federal legislation actually raised the threshold that financial institutions must meet to qualify someone for a mortgage. There is specific legislation that can be tied to this policy…plus federal monetary policy had previously been aimed at raising interest rates, which actually slows growth but ensures more stable and financially sound growth.
Commercial entities have been free-riders since the 1950s in terms of piggy-backing off the patriotic connotations associated with spending. We talked a lot about car companies in class so I wanted to give an example from another commercial sector. The only one I could think of was the Brett Farve Wrangler commercial that referenced American “Value” in a heap of denim…so I went back to the drawing board with cars.
The Dodge (Challenger) commercial of 2010 is the perfect example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezk0e1VL80o
In one very emotional minute, it conveys American strength and freedom through a throwback car model. One of the most recent comments on the video says “Dodge Bless America”. If the federal government has told us that spending is patriotic, private companies have figured out that it is profitable to tell us which brands and products are more patriotic. I’m not saying this clears all charges pending against the government with responsible spending. But the symbiotic relationship that private entities have picked up exacerbates the effects and makes it harder for a fresh look on responsible spending to become indoctrinated.